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Daffy Dilly
Daffy Dilly is a 1948 Merrie Melodies cartoon starring Daffy Duck. It is another early example of a greedy, self-centered Daffy (with some "screwball" elements), as perfected by this cartoon's director, Chuck Jones. Plot Daffy Duck is a novelty gag salesman operating on the sidewalk of a large city, selling things like flower squirters, a Joe Miller joke book, a rib-tickler, a cheap chicken inspector bag ("It's ... it's ... only 13 cents ...") and a 200 volt electric hand buzzer, even shocking himself with it in the process ("it's ... shocking ..."). However, he fails to sell anything to anyone. But after hearing a radio report declaring that the mirthless buzzsaw tycoon J.P. Cubish is offering a one million dollar reward to anyone who can make him laugh before he passes on, Daffy promptly sets off for the millionaire's home with dollar signs in his eyes. Upon arriving at Cubish's mansion, Daffy finds that the butler (whom Daffy refers to as "Jeeves," "Ruggles," "Meadows," and other commonly used servant names) is not willing to let him in. Daffy tries several ways to get inside (scaling the wall with a grappling hook, swinging in through the window on a rope, etc.), all of which end in failure (in one case, removing the butler's dentures in the process!). Daffy finally sneaks into the house by hiding in a package designed to look like a bottle of champagne (which the butler tries to keep for himself). Daffy ran for his life as the butler tried to kill him using an axe and cannon. Daffy climbs to the top of the building, only to confront the butler ("Whoops. How are things in Glocca Morra?"). As the butler corners Daffy ("Once and for all, I'm going to..."), the wily duck starts interrogating the butler a la Humphrey Bogart ("Not so fast, my man, Goddfrey! It becomes increasingly apparent that I'm not wanted around here."), suspecting him of not wanting Cubish to return to his good health ("Are we to assume that there is anything significant in this attitude of yours? That A: A butler might not want his master to recover his good health. That B: Said butler should endeavor to remove from the premises the only person capable of restoring said health, to said master."), and even accusing the butler of attempted murder ("Where were you, the night of April the 16th? A likely story! I see it all now. You and the upstairs maid! 'Do the old boy in', you said! 'Elderberry wine and old lace', you said! 'Then, the quick getaway', you said! Rio de Janerio, tropical nights, romance and a heavy bank account! But you weren't smart enough John, alias Johnny, alias Jack, alias Jacky! Phew! What's Humphrey Bogart got that I ain't got?"). Ultimately, Daffy tricks the jittery butler into fleeing the house in disguise, so as not to be arrested. ("But just to show you I'm not all copper, I'm gonna give you a ten-minute head start!", "Don't try to fight me now, get going! Hurry! They're on your trail! Run! Out this way! screams And stay on the straight and narrow!") At last, Daffy makes it to Cubish's bedroom, but before he can even unpack his novelty items, he slips and falls on a tray of food, covering himself in cake. Cubish finds this sight hilarious and laughs uproariously. In the end, Cubish keeps Daffy on hand as his personal jester, merrily throwing pies at the duck's face while he stands against a target. "It's a living," Daffy asides to the audience. Gallery Trivia Notes *Daffy's role as a salesman would be used again in The Stupor Salesman (1948), Fool Coverage (1952), and Design For Leaving (1954). Elmer Fudd is Daffy's foil in the latter cartoon. *This cartoon served as the genesis of the plot for the 1988 compilation feature Daffy Duck's Quackbusters. In the film, Cubish "dies laughing" and leaves his entire fortune to Daffy, on the grounds that he use it to perform a beneficial public service "and to display honesty in all business affairs". When Cubish returns in spectral form and threatens to take away Daffy's inheritance, Daffy forms a ghost-hunting business to "rid the world of disgusting ectoplasmic slime like J.P. Cubish!...Uh, I mean, nice ectoplasmic slime like J.P. Cubish." *This was one of only five post-1948 WB cartoons to get a Blue Ribbon reissue prior to 1956 - with the original credits cut. The others were The Foghorn Leghorn, Kit For Cat, Scaredy Cat, and You Were Never Duckier. Daffy Dilly is still the only one remaining to not have its original titles restored for DVD release (and also the only one of these to have been originally released in Cinecolor; the others were released in Technicolor), however, a print of the original version is in possession of the Old Greenbelt Theatre in Greenbelt, Maryland. Recently, a print of Daffy Dilly with a.a.p. titles was discovered, although, again, this was a post-1948 cartoon (Thus the print might have been given to a.a.p. by mistake. This print no longer exists on YouTube as of 2016). *Despite the existence of an original print, the restored version as seen on Looney Tunes Super Stars' Daffy Duck: Frustrated Fowl is the Blue Ribbon version (it is not known if WB was aware of the original print's existence or not). It is the only creditless Blue Ribbon retained by WB to be presented as such on DVD. *Forty years later, this cartoon was edited into Daffy Duck's Quackbusters. Category:Merrie Melodies Category:Merrie Melodies shorts Category:Blue Ribbon Category:Blue Ribbon shorts Category:Daffy Duck Category:Daffy Duck shorts Category:Directed by Chuck Jones Category:Chuck Jones Enterprises Category:1948 films Category:1948 shorts Category:Animated shorts Category:Warner Bros. Cartoons Category:Warner Bros. Animation Category:Best Short Academy Award winners Category:Looney Tunes Category:Looney Tunes shorts Category:1948 Category:1940s shorts Category:1940s Category:Vitaphone short films Category:Films Category:Shorts Category:Warner Bros. shorts Category:Cartoons directed by Chuck Jones Category:1940s films Category:Story by Michael Maltese Category:Written by Michael Maltese Category:Cartoons written by Michael Maltese Category:Animation by Ben Washam Category:Animated by Ben Washam Category:Cartoons animated by Ben Washam Category:Animation by Lloyd Vaughan Category:Animated by Lloyd Vaughan Category:Cartoons animated by Lloyd Vaughan Category:Animation by Ken Harris Category:Animated by Ken Harris Category:Cartoons animated by Ken Harris Category:Animation by Philip Monroe Category:Animated by Philip Monroe Category:Cartoons animated by Philip Monroe Category:Layouts by Robert Gribbroek Category:Backgrounds by Peter Alvarado Category:Cartoon layouts by Robert Gribbroek Category:Cartoons with backgrounds by Peter Alvarado Category:Effects Animation by A.C. Gamer Category:Cartoons with animated effects by A.C. Gamer Category:Film Editing by Treg Brown Category:Cartoons with sound effects by Treg Brown Category:Voice Characterizations by Mel Blanc Category:Voiced by Mel Blanc Category:Voices by Mel Blanc Category:Cartoons with voices by Mel Blanc Category:Music by Carl Stalling Category:Musical Direction by Carl Stalling Category:Cartoons with music by Carl Stalling